Front box plate for looms



p 2, 1969 J. R. BRANDON 3,464,456

FRONT BOX PLATE FOR LOOMS Filed Feb. 15, 1967 FIG. I

INVENTOR JOHN R. BRANDON ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,464,456 FRONTBOX PLATE FOR LOOMS John R. Brandon, Box 46, Cramerton, N.C. 28032 FiledFeb. 15, 1967, Ser. No. 616,287 Int. 'Cl. D03d 49/52, 49/54 US. Cl.139-183 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention concerns theuse of a separable wearresistant nosepiece in the area along the insidesurface of the front box plate where the conventional leather lining wassubject to deterioration from the impact of the shuttle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Means for arresting the flight of theshuttle across the lay of a weaving loom are usually attached to theinside surfaces of the front box plate and binder, and are so arrangedto box the rapidly moving shuttle at each side of the loom. This causesconsiderable abuse to the lining of the inner or entrance level of thefront box plate.

Various attempts have been made to reduce the deterioration of theconventional leather lining, such as treating it with a Wax coating asdescribed by the patent to Brooksbank, No. 3,273,604. The Butler PatentNo. 3,258,036 discloses the use of a resilient layer between the leathercovering and the inside surface of the front box plate.

However, these attempts are still not completely satisfactory in thatthey require a complete relining of the front box plate when the liningin the entrance area becomes unusuable. In Patent No. 2,494,913, thefront box plate is divided into two parts. While this eliminates theneed for relining the segment of the plate which receives the leastwear, it is objectionable in that additional problems of alinement arepresented as well as requiring additional inventory of parts.

SUMMARY The device of my invention overcomes these disadvantages byproviding a separate wear-resistant nosepiece or lining at the entranceor inner end of the front box plate. The invention is particularlyadvantageous in that existing front box plates may be modified toreceive the nosepiece or lining. Alternatively, a front box plateequipped with the separable nosepiece or lining of the invention isreadily interchanged with existing equipment. High molecular weightpolyethylene or any other suitable wear-resistant material has beenfound to be a satisfactory material from which to make the shuttlechecking member in that it is virtually impervious to the wear and abusesuffered by the shuttle impact.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a separablenosepiece or lining which may be attached to existing front box plateswith only slight modifications thereto.

It is another object of this invention to modify existing front boxplates by replacing a portion of the leather lining adjacent theentrance to the shuttle box with a wear-resistant strip such as highmolecular weight polyethylene.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an effective meansfor reducing deterioration of the inside lining of the front box plateand to eliminate the need for replacing the entire lining when the areaadjacent the entrance to the front box plate becomes unusuable.

Some of the objects of the invention having been 3,464,456 PatentedSept. 2, 1969 stated, other objects will appear as the descriptionproceeds, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a plan view of ashuttle box showing one embodiment of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the entrance or inner end portion ofthe front box plate removed from the shuttle box of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the inner end portion of a front boxplate showing another form of the invention; and

FIGURE 4 is an exploded perspective view of the form of the inventionshown in FIGURE 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now more particularlyto the drawings, FIG- URE 1 shows the shuttle box B with a shuttle Sentering the entrance or inner end thereof and about to engage the innerend of the front box plate 14. The shuttle box B comprises a rear plateor hinder 10 and a front box plate 14, each of said plates 10 and 14having its inner or front end slightly outwardly turned to receive theshuttle S as it returns from the other side of the loom. A leatherlining 12 extends from the inner end of the binder 10, along the insidesurface to a point 13 whereby the entire length of the fully boxedshuttle will be engaged by said leather lining. The front box plate 14also has a leather lining 16 suitably adhered to the inside wall thereofand extending from the outer or rear end of said plate along the lengthof the inside surface to point 17. From point 17 throughout theremainder of the inner surface, the leather is trimmed away according tothe invention and replaced by the lining or nosepiece 18, suitablysecured at its front end by a screw or rivet 20 to the corresponding endof front box plate 14.

FIGURE 2 more specifically shows the nosepiece 18 which preferablycomprises a strip of high molecular weight polyethylene but may alsocomprise some other suitable wear-resistant material. The plastic strip18 is generally curved in shape to conform to the wall of front boxplate 14 from point 17 to beyond the screw 20. An enlarged portion orbead 22 is formed along the edge of the plastic strip 18 opposite screw20 and is of such size as to be receivable within a vertical passageway24 which extends through the front box plate 14. A slot 23 providescommunication between passageway 24 and the inner surface of front boxplate 14, slot 23 and passageway 24 providing means for receiving andretaining said opposite end of the plastic strip 18.

To replace a worn or damaged shuttle checking device, screw 20 isremoved and plastic strip 18 is slid vertically from slot 23 andpassageway 24. A new plastic strip is then seated within slot 23 andscrew 20 is replaced to secure the new plastic nosepiece.

FIGURES 3 and 4 show an alternate embodiment of the nosepiece or lining,whereby the complete inner portion of the conventional leather-linedmetallic front box plate is replaced. According to the invention, theinner end portion of a conventional metallic front box plate is cut awayand replaced by a plastic block 32 formed of high molecular weightpolyethylene having approximately the same exterior dimensions as themetallic front plate portion replaced. At the shuttle impact point 34the plastic block 32 is rounded to provide a means for guiding theshuttle S into the shuttle box B.

The plastic block 32 has a longitudinal passageway 36 extendingthroughout its length and includes a horizontally extending protuberance40 having a transversely elongated slot 38 formed therein providing ameans for mounting the front box plate to the lay end plate. Theelongated slot 38 also provides a means for adjusting the front boxplate transversely with respect to the shuttle lay.

The plastic block 32 is fixed to the metallic portion 30 of the frontbox plate by a threaded stud or shaft 42 fixed to and extending axiallybeyond the metallic portion 30. The shaft 42 may include an enlargedportion, not shown, defined by a shoulder 46 and threadably receivedWithin a bore 50. The smaller portion of stud 42 is received inpassageway 36 and is threaded at 44 to secure the plastic block 32. Thediameter of stud 42 is slightly larger than the diameter of passageway36, so that the plastic block 32 is internally threaded as the block 32is screwed onto stud 42. The threads 44 are cut into the stud 42 in anopposite direction from the threads on the enlarged portion of shaft 42,so that when the plassistant material covering substantially the entireinterior tic block 32 is being secured to the metallic portion 50,

stud 42 will not be loosened from the metallic body 30 of the' front boxplate. That is, one end of stud 42 is provided with right-hand threads,while the other end has left-hand threads. Also, the exposed portion ofstud 42 is preferably of less length than the corresponding dimension ofthe plastic block so it will not extend beyond passageway 36.

Although the drawings and description are descriptive of the right-handfront box plate, it should be understood that this invention is equallysuitable for use on left-hand front box plates.

Although preferred embodiments of the invention have been describedusing specific terms, such description is for illustrative purposesonly, and it is to be understood that changes and variations may be madewithout'departing from the spirit or scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a s'hutttle box for a loom, said shuttle box comprising a frontbox plate and binder having out-turned faces at one end thereof toreceive a shuttle, said front box plate having a front and rear end andfurther comprising:

(a) a covering on the inside face of said front box plate suitablysecured to the face thereof and extending from the rear end of saidfront box plate toward the other end of said plate and covering aportion of the entire length thereof;

(b) wear-resistant means suitably attached to said surface of the frontbox plate at said front end and being suitably secured thereto.

3. The front box plate according to claim 2, wherein said opening in thefront box plate comprises a vertical slot in the wall adjacent theinterior of the shuttle box, said strip of wear-resistant materialhaving a hole through one end thereof through which a screw is insertedto secure said one end to said front end of the front box plate, and theenlarged portion at the end of said strip nearest said coveringcomprises an enlarged bead extending the width of said strip, said beadbeing inserted into said slot to attach said other end of the strip tosaid front box plate.

4. The front box plate according to claim 2, wherein said wear-resistantmeans is formed of high molecular weight polyethylene.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,763,456 6/ 1930 Caux. 2,111,9623/1938 Brown 139--185 2,206,843 7/ 1940 Johnson 139-183 2,596,651 5/1952Carter 139-183 2,156,885 5/1939 Turner 139-184 2,710,030 6/ 1955 Work139-187 3,405,741 10/1968 Hampson 139183 FOREIGN PATENTS 567,192 10/1958Belgium. 772,052 4/ 1957 Great Britain.

r JAMES KEE CHI, Primary Examiner

